How did harald hardrada die

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Harald Hardrada

"...and Harald, the king of the Norwegians, met him with 300 ships, and Tostig submitted to him. And they both went into the Humber until they came to York; and Earl Morcar and Earl Edwin fought with them, and the king of the Norwegians had the victory."
Anglo-Saxon Chronicle (Peterborough MS)

The saga of Harald Sigurdsson or, as he is better known, Harald Hardrada (Hardruler or Ruthless) is told by Snorri Sturluson in the Heimskringla, a history of the kings of Norway written c.1230.

In 1030 Olaf Haraldsson (St. Olaf) was killed, fighting to regain his throne after having been driven out by resentful jarls. His half-brother Harald, then only fifteen, was himself wounded in the battle and forced to flee for his own life. In time, relates Snorri, he came to Novgorod in Russia and then to Constantinople (Miklagård), where he enrolled in the service of the Byzantine empress and eventually became commander of the Varangian Guard (Viking mercenaries, mostly from Sweden, who served in the bodyguard of the Byzantine emperor).

Snorri revels in

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Harald Hardrada of Norway

Rich in combat experience and wealth he returned to Scandinavia n 1046 where he was quick to play his part in the local entanglements. Here, the Norwegian-Danish king Magnus the Good (Magnus I of Norway) fought the Danish pretender Svein Estridsson. Initially, Harald and Svein joined forces, but when Magnus offered Harald co-kingship, he betrayed Svein.

Shortly afterwards, in 1047, Magnus died. Possibly from the injuries he received when pursuing Svein after a battle on Zealand, where he according to legend fell of his horse. Magnus willed Harald to have Norway and Svein Denmark.

Harald was not content with this, however, and in the following years he and Svein often crossed swords - both on land and at sea. Harald plundered and burned Haithabu in 1049 for example, as well as plundering and ravaging many other Danish places during the years. The Skuldelev-blockade of Roskilde Fjord, whose first phase is dated to about 1060, is often interpreted as an attempt to secure Roskilde from Haralds surprise attacks after the disaster in Haithabu. Even though

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On 18 September 1066, the last great Viking began his final campaign, the invasion of England. Harald Hardrada’s life and military career reads like something out of Bernard Cornwell’s novels, an adventurer, mercenary, king, conqueror, administrator and hero of the Icelandic sagas, this last audacious attack was a fitting end to his career.

Its real historical significance, however, was that it weakened the army of King Harold to an extent where he could be beaten by another man of Viking descent – William the Conqueror.

Raised for war

Harald was born in 1015 in Norway, and the sagas that have preserved his memory claim descent from the legendary first King of that country – Harald Fairhair.

At the time of his birth, Norway was part of the Danish empire of King Cnut, which included England and parts of Sweden. The Norwegians were not happy with foreign rule and Harald’s older brother Olaf was exiled for his dissent in 1028.

14th-century portrait of Cnut the Great. Image credit: Public Domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Image Credit: Public domain, v